The Park Fire Began When a Man Pushed a Burning Car Into a Ditch. It Has Since Burned Over 120,000 Acres in California
According to officials, a 42-year-old man started the huge Park Fire by pushing a burning car into a ravine. The fire is still going strong and has burned over 120,000 acres in California.
Butte County District Attorney Michael L. Ramsey said in a statement that Ronnie Dean Stout, II, of Chico, California, was seen pushing a burning car into a ditch near a swimming hole in Bidwell Park just before 3 p.m. Wednesday.
“The car went down a 60-foot slope and caught fire down,” he said. “This spread the flames that started the Park Fire.”
It wasn’t clear right away Thursday night if Stout had a lawyer.
It takes about 80 miles to get to Butte County from Sacramento. There are currently a lot of wildfires in California. The biggest one is the Park Fire.
Cal Fire said that by late Thursday, the fire had grown to more than 120,000 acres. Not even 3% of it was contained.
Police say Stout will be charged with any arson charges that are brought against him along with two past “strike” felony convictions.
He was found guilty in 2001 of sex crimes with a child younger than 14 in Butte County Superior Court. Prosecutors say Stout was also found guilty of robbery with great bodily injury in Kern County Superior Court in 2002 and given a 20-year state prison term.
Officials said that after Stout pushed the car into the gully, he was seen “calmly leaving the area by blending in with other citizens who were in the area and fleeing the rapidly evolving fire.”
Ramsey said that Stout was given a warrant for arrest early Thursday morning. He was taken to the Butte County Jail and will stay there without bail until his hearing on Monday, Ramsey said.
Extremely hot weather has helped wildfires start all over California and the West, causing people to leave their homes, closing roads, and making the air dirty.